


there is magic (all around you)

by WrongSeason



Category: His Dark Materials (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/F, First Kiss, Marisa just being an idiot, Mistletoe, Science Girlfriends, There’s drinking but nothing excessive, in which they’re both too shy to do anything, its a Christmas fic!, that’s right!, theres mistletoe!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-05
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28559865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WrongSeason/pseuds/WrongSeason
Summary: It’s as she’s checking out she spots the mistletoe hanging prettily by the tills. She buys a sprig, figuringwhat the hell, although is the first thing she deals with when she gets home.~ Or, Mary invites Marisa over for Christmas ~
Relationships: Marisa Coulter/Mary Malone
Comments: 12
Kudos: 66





	there is magic (all around you)

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a tweet of @schereeer
> 
> As per, please enjoy! 
> 
> Title is Rooms on Fire, Stevie Nicks

“You could always-“ Mary stops, train of thought eventually catching up with her. 

“Yes, Dr. Malone?”

“For the millionth time, call me Mary,” she shakes her head, and takes a sip of her - now luke-warm - tea for courage. “You could always come to mine for Christmas. I don’t really celebrate, it’s just me and the cat. But it’d be nice to have some company.”

Marisa smiles. It’s lost the edge it once had, and Mary considers this a win. 

“That would be lovely, Mary,” she says the name pointedly, trying to make an effort. “Would you like me to bring anything?”

“Just yourself is perfect.”

Mary inwardly curses herself. _Just yourself is perfect._ She’d cringe outwardly if she were alone. She’s an adult, she should be able to manage a simple crush. 

~

Shopping for Christmas dinner for two, it turns out, is rather different than shopping for one. She still buys Nikola his customary prawns, but where she’d ordinarily buy herself a meal for one and a bottle of red, she figures she should make the effort to cook. Not that she knows how to make much other than pasta.

Not a lot has changed since her student days. 

She hopes Marisa will appreciate the effort nonetheless. 

It’s as she’s checking out she spots the mistletoe hanging prettily by the tills. She buys a sprig, figuring _what the hell_ , although is the first thing she deals with when she gets home. 

~

When the knock on her door comes at precisely 1 o’clock, Mary still jumps, as if she hasn’t been intently listening for the last hour. She scrambles off the sofa, disturbing a sleeping Nikola, who glares at her with something that could be considered human. 

When she opens the door, she loses a breath. Marisa is always well dressed and perfectly polished. But in jeans and an oversized jumper, curls loose and bare-faced, Mary can’t help but thinks she looks radiant.

“Come on in!” She says, a little too enthusiastically, but Marisa pretends not to notice, and instead hands over a cactus. 

“I believe presents are customary?” She asks, looking around Mary’s hallway curiously. She spots the mistletoe hanging from the doorframe, but doesn’t say anything. 

Mary’s too busy reading the tag to respond. “To Mary, From Marisa”, punctuated with a single kiss. She tries not to get her hopes up. Marisa presses a bottle into her hands, and crosses the threshold. 

“I also brought wine,” she says with a wink, before wandering into Mary’s kitchen, leaving the physicist glued helplessly to her spot. Her mind and feet kick in eventually, and she follows through, pouring them both rather large glasses. 

She tries and fails not to be disappointed about the mistletoe. Puts it down to different worlds and different customs. 

~ 

They’re sat on either ends of the sofa, tummies full, and more than a little tipsy. Mary with her feet tucked under her, a black void purring contentedly on her knee. Marisa sat perfectly poised, legs crossed delicately at the ankles. 

Mary wonders to herself if the woman ever relaxes. Ever lets her guard down for even a second. She assumes not. 

Marisa finishes her glass, and hiccups, promptly looking mortified. Mary hides a laugh behind her hand, but not well enough to save her from a playful scowl. At least the ridiculously expensive bottle of scotch she’d bought specifically to impress had gone down well. 

“Thank you,” she says softly. There’s only a certain amount of vulnerability she’ll allow herself in front of the other woman. Figures too much will put her at a disadvantage. 

“What for?”

“Keeping me company. And the cactus,” she points to the spot on her windowsill where she’s placed the new plant. “I’m going to call him Wilson.”

“You can’t name a plant, Mary.”

“Try and stop me, Marisa.”

She doesn’t. 

~

“I really should be going now.”

It takes another three hours to reach this point. It’s almost midnight, and although Mary knows this she can’t help herself from feeling crestfallen. 

“Okay, then.”

She doesn’t fight it. Thinks it’ll do more harm than good in the end. So she sees Marisa to the door, and wonders if she should hug her or not. 

Unsure after all this time if they’re at that place yet. 

She’s staring up at the ceiling, at the damn mistletoe, when she realises Marisa is too. 

“Mary,” she says, voice thick and sweet like honey. Her fingers tangle in Mary’s, and she leans forwards to finally kiss Dr. Mary Malone. 

They both pull back, a little shy and uncoordinated in this new territory. 

“We have that tradition in my world,” Marisa points up. “I was just too…” she trails off, not really wanting to admit that she was too scared. For all the times she’s used other people’s attraction to her for her own advantage, she couldn’t do that to Mary. Feels too much of something like affection to hurt her so. 

Mary wants desperately to kiss her again, but finds herself laughing before she can do so. Marisa looks at her incredulously, and a little offended. 

“Don’t tell me you were too scared. I was bloody terrified! And I couldn’t bring it up in case it wasn’t a thing, and then you’d have thought I was being presumptuous, and just because I like you doesn’t mean that-“ she’s cut off by Marisa pulling her in by the waist and kissing her again. 

And she thinks to herself this just might be worth it.


End file.
